MADISON (WKOW) -- Hundreds gathered at the Kohl Center Thursday night to remember the life of a legendary Wisconsin hockey coach Jeff Sauer.
73-year-old Sauer passed away on February after battling an illness.
Over Sauer's 20-year head coaching career at UW, he led the badgers to 489 victories, the most victories for a UW coach in any sport and two national titles.
But, those who knew him closely say those weren't his biggest accomplishments.
"He allowed us to grow and develop into being the best version of ourselves. That may sound easy to do, it may not sound like a not big deal. It was an enormous amount of trust and confidence he had in his team," says current UW Men's Hockey Head Coach Tony Granato.
In his more than 40 years of coaching, Sauer was inducted into 6 halls of fame including the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.
In 2011, Sauer was named head coach of the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team.
In his six seasons as coach, he won titles in seven major international events, including a gold medal at the 2014 Paralympics in Sochi, Russia.
For more on this story: http://www.wkow.com/story/34714103/2017/03/10/celebrating-the-life-of-a-legendary-wisconsin-head-coach